I think the xenophobia of small town Americans is overstated. That said, it’s different because America is an individualist society. In a society where everyone is an island, it’s harder to explain why you care about someone with a different culture moving next door. By contrast in more collectivist societies, everyone is expected to follow the same norms and behave the same way, so people with disparate cultures moving in does actually create an imposition on everyone else.
An interesting story about Japan. I know someone who is ethnically Japanese, but who was raised in America and moved to Japan as an adult. He remarked he gets a lot of flak because he looks like he should know the rules, but doesn’t. It’s really not about “xenophobia.” It’s about having an orderly society where everyone knows the same rules and adheres to the same culture.
That’s a very American viewpoint. I think individualism should be punished. It’s why everything in America that requires social cooperation (public transit, government, etc.) is so shitty. Even just walking down the street—I nearly had a panic attack taking the New York subway the other day because of all the individualism.
> Not really. It's the viewpoint of most cultures throughout history.
Most cultures do not value individualism. It's not even universal to Americans, historically.
> Individualism allows for innovation and creativity.
So what? It doesn't allow for an orderly society that's pleasant to live in.
> This is a shame. Were you raised in Japan?
No, just a tourist who has eyes and can see what shit holes American cities are in comparison. I was raised in Virginia. At least there, at that time, Christianity still functioned as a check on American individualism. Unfortunately that has collapsed.
Most cultures absolutely do. Japanese culture is teh exception not the rule.
> So what? It doesn't allow for an orderly society that's pleasant to live in.
Of course it does. Those two things are not mutually exclusive at all. Unless you take one of them way too far like the Japanese do, with no discernible benefit.
> No, just a tourist who has eyes and can see what shit holes American cities are in comparison.
That's not because of individualism, that's because of corruption, lack of regulation and enforcement, wealth disparity etc. Other western countries with the same focus on individualism have very nice and clean cities.
> Christianity still functioned as a check on American individualism. Unfortunately that has collapsed.
The sooner any and all religions become forgotten, the better we will all be for it.
> Most cultures absolutely do. Japanese culture is teh exception not the rule.
By what measure? Most of the world is African and Asian, and those cultures are not individualistic.
> Of course it does. Those two things are not mutually exclusive at all. Unless you take one of them way too far like the Japanese do, with no discernible benefit.
The Japanese system produces tremendous benefits: an orderly society where everyone behaves according to rules.
> That's not because of individualism, that's because of corruption, lack of regulation and enforcement, wealth disparity etc.
Japan has corruption, wealth disparity, etc., as well. That isn't the thing that makes it different. Every society has those forces. Individualism just makes it harder to build a nice society in spite of them.
> Other western countries with the same focus on individualism have very nice and clean cities.
Most western countries aren't as individualistic as America. They're different than Asia, which is based on strong family networks, but it's not the worship of self that prevails in America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante.
> The sooner any and all religions become forgotten, the better we will all be for it.
I wouldn't hold my breath, given that the world is becoming more religious: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/27/religion-why-is.... Christianity was the glue holding American society together, and now that's breaking down we are seeing the consequences.
If we relied on individualists for everything we would still have no sewage system or water supply. Famously British parliament refused to fund a sewage system until they were tortured with stench for months.
Extreme individualism leads to societal collapse. In fact the concept of society means there are some limits on individualism.
The other day I saw a bigger toddler kicking a smaller toddler in a museum, with no parents in sight, and no one was willing to intervene until my wife did. People just look at their feet and ignore the issue.
There's a difference in punishing individual expression and freedom, and ignoring something bad going on. Cultures like Japan's punish people for wanting to veer away from the family expectations/role in any way. It's ridiculous and anachronistic.
Ignoring family expectations and social roles is "something bad." Why do you think you are special, and need to do something different than everyone else does?
An interesting story about Japan. I know someone who is ethnically Japanese, but who was raised in America and moved to Japan as an adult. He remarked he gets a lot of flak because he looks like he should know the rules, but doesn’t. It’s really not about “xenophobia.” It’s about having an orderly society where everyone knows the same rules and adheres to the same culture.